TECHNOLOGY FOR SENIORS

A great piece from the Arizona Daily Sun about the power of music therapy. “[Mary] Gaughan equates music therapy to more traditional therapies such as physical, speech and occupational — the only difference is that she uses music to address clients’ cognitive, social and physical goals. She said, in her experience, music therapy is highly […]

Alzheimer’s patients who are exposed to pets such as dogs display more positive behavior, according to a study carried out on an Alzheimer’s special care unit. Additional studies show that pets can provide companionship, reduce isolation, and ease anxiety. Modern technology has now embraced the benefits that pets offer Alzheimer’s patients. These studies have resulted […]

New Atlas with some new research showing a link between poor sleep and Alzheimers. The study draws a link between circadian rhythms – basically a person’s inherent sleep cycle – and a biomarker associated with Alzheimer’s disease. “The brain protein in question is called YKL-40 and for years has served as a biomarker for Alzheimer’s, […]

A great article from The Advocate about how one can be a better caregiver. This passage is particularly important: “Though patience is often a difficult virtue to achieve, strive to reach it each day with your loved one. The capacity to tolerate without becoming overly annoyed can make you a better caregiver. When tensions rise […]

In the year 2020, we have so many choices for entertainment that we are paralyzed by the options available. But our senior loved ones grew up in a simple era, one where there may have only been three television stations to watch (if that many). That lack of options means people from that era tend […]

Winter is still raging, but that makes it the perfect time to help your senior loved one take an annual look at their financial health. Examine credit card & bank statements for recurring charges. Many seniors have services they signed up for ages ago, which they no longer use. Sometimes they’ve forgotten about the charges […]

Winter can be tough. What for generations was just something you lived with now has a name: seasonal depression. Seniors and people with disabilities are particularly hard hit by seasonal depression. There are a number of therapies in use, but today we’re going to focus on Music Therapy. This quote shows some of the benefits […]

A bittersweet story from the NY Times. “Aliria Rosa Piedrahita de Villegas carried a rare genetic mutation that had all but guaranteed she would develop Alzheimer’s disease in her 40s. But only at age 72 did she experience the first symptoms of it. Her dementia was not terribly advanced when she died from cancer on […]

“Failure is always an option.” This was the motto of Mythbuster Adam Savage, but it really is the ultimate axiom governing science. Failure is always around the corner, but even failures produce data which can lead to successes down the road. Such is the case in a Cambridge University study into a hereditary condition called […]

Now don’t go pressing your cordless phone up against your sore hands…yet. But maybe get a little excited about a recent study showing that high-energy radio waves can ‘stun’ inflamed nerves and provide pain relief from conditions like arthritis. “Recently, scientists have begun treating chronic pain using electrical currents, produced by powerful radio waves, which […]

“NO!” It’s the favorite word of toddlers and the favorite word of most seniors who need regular care. And that – as much as anything – is one of the significant flashpoints between caregivers and care recipients. Too many people see superficial similarities between the behavior of a child and an older adult, and instinctively […]

Alzheimer’s patients who are exposed to pets such as dogs display more positive behavior, according to a study carried out on an Alzheimer’s special care unit. Additional studies show that pets can provide companionship, reduce isolation, and ease anxiety. Modern technology has now embraced the benefits that pets offer Alzheimer’s patients. These studies have resulted […]

Even as Covid lockdowns have ebbed and flowed for the last 8 months, one of the few constants has been the hard lockdowns most senior care facilities have put in place. No in-person, face-to-face visits whatsoever. As hard as lockdowns have been on the rest of us, few have had it harder than seniors in […]

At-home physical therapy – Creaky Joints has a great rundown of exercises for the hands you can do at home with no special equipment. These simple activities can help alleviate pain, improve flexibility, and potentially stave off any further degradation. Learn which tools can help – As they say, the right tool for the right […]

A pair of brothers lost their sight to a rare genetic disorder. They’ve now turned that disability into the motivation for a quest: to make sure no one else has to go thru what they did. “Inspiration for the brand came during a shopping trip to Bloomingdale’s in New York City. The brothers were celebrating […]